…well, almost.

Just earlier this morning, I decided that it was time to dust off those WIPs in hibernation and put my knitting needles to good use. Nil had remarked that I switch hobbies far too often and bemoaned the status of my non-moving yarn which we paid to move here together with all our stuff. Heh. Okay okay, I get the drift. I need to kick myself in knitting again.

So I took a look at my Rav project page and decided on what WIPs to bring out of hibernation and such. One the list was my Ivy wrap which has been on hibernation for a longgggg time. I managed to make some headway with it towards the end of my pregnancy but alas, fell short of the finish line. So this time, I was determined to finish it by hook or crook.

Now, I was about to start working on my Ivy wrap when a rather large-ish order for crochet booties came in. So once again, it’s KIV…for now. I’m hoping to be able to work in a few rows in the evenings. The plan is to work on the shop items (booties and sewing) while Eva takes her afternoon naps and reserve my evenings for time with Nil and doing my other hobbies like knitting, spinning and sewing up non-shop items like my quilts. Hopefully this plan works out…

*keeps fingers crossed*

Despite a shaky start, I continued on anyway…yes, even with a noisy wheel, no thanks to a nearly-straightened crank which is supposed to be slightly bent. I don’t spin all the time during the day though – just when I feel like it, since the flyer whooshing away and the noise from the crank can be a little annoying.

While Eva has a high tolerance for noise during her naptime, I don’t really want to push my luck. So I just spin for about 30 minutes to an hour during the day. The spinning action really kicks in at night, when she’s asleep in her own room – of course this is if I’m not pooped out for the day.

So yeah, back to spinning it is…and soon, with any luck, the shop will be open again!

Is it just me and the light here in Asia is really different from in Europe?

With my wheel fully assembled (yes, the boxes arrived yesterday and I started unpacking them), I decided to get back to some serious spinning action. One night and one morning later, I have this to show for – a smallish heap of underspun singles (there are smallish heaps of fibres all over my tile flooring too), which resulted in plenty of breaks, enough to annoy me into checking if my wheel was set up properly and such.

But really, this is the moment when sagely advice given to me when I first start spinning hits home – practice really makes perfect.

It felt so weird holding the fibres in my hands and trying hard not to let them run away with the spin. I never realized that treading the wheel and controlling the draft at the same time was such hard work until today. Well, maybe that’s because I wasn’t busy minding Eva at the same time – well, it was more of she minding me. The little one was busy staring at me frowning while drafting the fibres.

Anyway, I discovered that my flyer wasn’t exactly aligned properly to the wheel so after, a few twists of the screwdriver, I tested it again with a few spins. The singles are looking better than before so I’m keeping my fingers crossed as to the outcome. Am so hoping that I won’t end up with underspun singles like before. Otherwise it would be such a waste of lovely fibre (am utilizing some yummy 50/50 superwash merino-tencel blend).

With any luck, I ought to have a bobbin full of singles to show for by end of next week – I’m being optimistic.

When Ravelry’s database put my stash count at 192 skeins (including braids of fibre), I thought nothing much of it – it was just another figure.

That all changed recently…well, after this morning actually. I have managed to filled in at least six boxes of varying sizes (the smallest being around 120 x 150 x 200 mm to the largest nearly 480 x 600 x 800 mm). Of course a good three of them contain my shop stock so I can’t really count it as just for stash but still, with the ziplock-vacuum pack thing, those 192 skeins finally materialised.

Nil finds it amusing that I have little inkling as to the amount of stash I have. He being a non-knitter (and obviously someone who doesn’t understand the obsession some people have about yarn stashing) sees things more clearly than myself I guess. But then again, this is someone who is willing to drive to Germany to buy beer if given the chance. Granted though it’s not far – about two hours by car.

I did try my luck when he said he was thinking of making the trip there with Dad – the ever sought after Wollmeise yarns are now making their appearance in the form of a real life store but alas, Nil would only be crossing the border instead of heading inward (and this store is located in the Bavarian area).

O’well, I have another three medium sized bags to go but I think I’ll probably give those away instead of sending it to Singapore. We’ll see how it goes. After my stash, the only thing left would be my clothes, books (knitting, cookbooks and such) plus things like my shoes and all. I might donate some of my older clothes and shoes but yeah…talk about stashing yarn and fibres.

Definitely need to run a “knit from stash” thing once they are out of them boxes!

…just busy, that’s all.

I just finished my last class today at the language school and the shop is on a hiatus even though there are still items listed for sale. I thought I’d finish up my last spinning WIP (or at least I think it’s the last WIP unless I get itchy and start on another fibre), ply and list it for sale before Eva decides to show up. I did break my fibre diet by adding two more braids to my current stash but seriously, I suspect the spinning wheel will be on break for the next couple of months. Baby belly is getting too big for spinning, but not for sewing. HAHA.

In the mean time, I’ve been doing some of my regular cooking – nothing fancy, just the usual quiche lorraine and some salads – and I have a couple of dishes planned on the menu in the form of pizza, and rhubarb tart.

Btw, did you guys know that Black Friday is a term for the Friday after Thanksgiving which is also the beginning of the traditional holiday shopping season? Amazing the kind of things you can find out via Wiki! Yes, I read all sorts of funny things.

Ply | Three
Yardage | 361.2 m
WPI | NA
Fibre | Superwash Merino (my own handdyed)
Tool | Serenity Wheel [5.5:1 ratio]

This is up for sale at the store but just to let you know – I’m in love with this dyeing technique! The resulting effect time and time again is a mix of solids and stripes but get this – they are heathered not so much solid per se as you can see in the picture above.

I’d love to try this out with some of the rovings I dyed up using the same technique for the store…but the stash comes first. Must destash, destash and destash.

Yes, I bet by now, you know that my knitting is somewhat non-existent. Aiiii…

A long long time ago, when I first got my hands on some superwash merino for the shop, I churned out this colourway which I felt I didn’t want anyone else to have. Yes, that’s the beauty of running your own shop – if no one else wants it, I’ll have it…and well, if I can’t have it, no else else can! LOL!

It was a technique that I had been working on and the resulting effect gave me a lovely splash of dark purple, dark red, grey and bright spots of pink here & there with some underlining white. Affectionately named Cassis Swirl Jam, this roving reminds me of those jars of peanut butter jam jelly and the barberpole effect in that jar between the brown of the peanut butter and purple of the jam jelly.

As I spun it up, I’m reminded of the effect I got when I worked on another roving dyed using the same technique. So far, I’m loving the results the singles have given off – a mix of solids of a variety of shades plus patches of barberpole and white. This beauty will definitely be a surprise when I’m done with the plying. I just can’t wait to see, really.

Now please excuse me while I get back to my spinning and writing about cattle supplies (?).

Ply | Three
Yardage | 394.7 m
WPI | NA
Fibre | 70/30 Superwash Merino-Seacell from juliespins.etsy.com
Tool | Serenity Wheel [5.5:1 ratio]

Earlier today, I said that I would put this up for sale and all after plying since the colours are amazing and all, but after setting the twist and all, I notice that it bleeds a little. And while it’s okay with me personally, I am hesitant about selling a yarn that may add a slight orange tinge to water when rinsing.

Now, before anyone jumps to the wrong conclusion, bleeding is normal when the colours are intense and with certain blends – I ought to know. The merino-tencel I dyed up a while back bled like crazy and it took me a while to get a clear change of water without compromising on the colour brightness. So after buzzing Julie about it to check what her recommendation was to avoid future bleeds (read: wash/block in cold water only), I decided there and then that this was the perfect excuse for me to hang on to this.

At least now I can say that I have some handspun of my own to use!!!